Of Stubbornness, Red Curls, and Messy Black Hair
by LazySundayGirl
Summary: Lily Evans' big problem started all the way back on her first train ride to Hogwarts. For James Potter, that was the moment he got his biggest crush ever. Major LE/JP. T for cursing. ON HIATUS FOR UNDETERMINED TIME
1. Lily Evans' Story

Disclaimer: You see, even if I were to steal the rights from J.K Rowling, some character would just Expelliarmus them from me. So, J.K. Rowling owns all characters and everything recognizable from the Harry Potter series, except for Isabella Lot. Isabella's mine, people, don't you even dare try to steal her.

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Chapter 1-Prologue-Lily Evans

"Lily, will you—"

"No. Leave me alone, Potter."

This was the start of another horrible day at Hogwarts.

My name is Lily Evans, and I'm a second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am twelve years old and my best friends are Alice Smith and Isabella Lott. I have a pretty normal life, at least, as normal as it can get at Hogwarts when you're a witch, except for this one problem. You see, it all started on my first train ride to Hogwarts, back when I was a first year.

-Flashback-

_I had just passed through the barrier, just as Professor McGonagall had told me to when she had come to my house to explain. It was a totally different world._

_Apart from the gigantic scarlet train with the letters 'Hogwarts Express' on the front and the smoke, there was a huge crowd. I walked through it all, catching parts of conversations here and there._

_"Oh my god, have you seen that scrawny kid over there?"_

_"Are you sure you have your rat, Toby?"_

_"Mum, what if I'm in Slytherin?"_

_I marveled at the differences between this world and the 'Muggle' world. For instance, in a Muggle home, you would never see owls soaring overhead, or hear bangs and see flashes from corners, or hear mothers tell their children not to turn their teacher into some sort of animal this year._

_I turned to my parents and Petunia, and saw them staring at everything with their mouths wide open. At least, that's what my parents were doing. Petunia was looking around with a stuck-up expression on her face and holding her nose high in the air._

_You see, my parents were really proud that they had a daughter who was magic, but Petunia treated me like a freak. I knew it was just because she was jealous, but it still hurt when she called me names. Sure, we had our arguments growing up, but we were still sisters. She was the one who I would've gone to with problems, the one who had taught me how to tie my shoes, and the one who had given a big hug when I was crying, and my big sister. But that had all changed when I got my Hogwarts letter and Professor McGonagall had come to our house. Now, she would throw me dirty looks over dinner, or ignore me when I walked past her on the stairs, or wrinkle her nose when I did some accidental magic. And most of all, she didn't like 'that boy from Spinner's end', my friend Severus Snape._

_Sev was the one that had explained a lot about all of this, this magic. He would be in my year, and he was the first friend I had in Hogwarts. He did kind of look like an overgrown bat, with his oily black hair, big black clothes, and pale skin, but he was my friend, and that's what counts._

_I gave my parents a last hug, gave my mum a big kiss on her cheek, and then turned to Tuney. Severus had gone to his own parents. They were standing a few meters away from us_

_"Go on. I hope you have fun over at your school for _freaks_." Petunia said._

_That was the moment I knew for sure that she was just jealous._

_"Look, I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen—" I grabbed her hand, trying to find some way to make sure I could get her into Hogwarts."Maybe once I'm there—no, listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"_

_"I don't – want – to – go!" said Petunia, as she tried to tug her hand from my grip. "You think I want to go to some stupid castle and learn to be a – a…"_

_She looked at all of the bizarre colors, the animals, and then finished her sentence._

_" –you think I want to be a—a freak?"_

_I felt tears well up in my eyes as she finally managed to pull her hand away_

_"I'm not a freak," I said. "That's a horrible thing to say."_

_"That's where you're going," said Petunia. "A special school for freaks. You and that Snape boy…weirdoes, that's what you two are. It's good you're being separated from normal people. It's for our safety."_

_I looked at my parents (who were still marveling at everything), and decided that I should tell Petunia the truth about the letter._

_"You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you."_

_Petunia blushed fiercely._

_"Beg? I didn't beg!"_

_"I saw his reply. It was very kind."_

_"You shouldn't have read –," whispered Petunia, "That was my private – how could you –?"_

_I gave myself away by glancing at Severus for a split second. Tuney gasped._

_"That boy found it! You and that boy have been sneaking in my room!"_

_"No – not sneaking – " I suddenly turned defensive. "Severus saw the envelope, and he couldn't believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that's all! He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of – "_

_"Apparently wizards poke their noses in everywhere!" said Petunia, now as pale as she had been flushed. "Freak!" she spat at me once more before she bounded over to our parents._

_I bit my lip; my eyes were stinging from unshed tears. Severus tried to go to me, but I quickly grabbed my trunk and Mercurius and hurried into the crowd, trying to get lost so that he wouldn't be able to find me. I felt guilty and resentful towards Sev, even though I knew it was not right to blame him. Although it _had _been his idea to open that letter…_

_He found me later in a compartment with two boys, James Potter and Sirius Black, who were having an animated discussion about something called Quidditch. I was looking out the window, thinking about how horrible it would be when I would have to go back home in the summer._

_Sev slipped onto the bench opposite me. I glanced at him, and then looked back outside. I didn't want him to know that I had been crying._

_"I don't want to talk to you," I said, my throat tight from crying_

_"Why not?"_

_"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."_

_"So what?"_

_I glared at him_

_"So, she's my sister!"_

_I tried to surreptitiously wipe my eyes while he said something I didn't catch._

_"But we're going!" he said, unable to contain his enthusiasm. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"_

_I nodded, still wiping my eyes, trying for a smile._

_"You'd better be in Slytherin," said Severus, clearly happy that I had brightened a little._

_"Slytherin?" James exclaimed. He had tried to pull me into the conversation before, but I didn't feel like talking, so after about five times, he gave up. I could still feel his eyes on me every now and then. Once, I had glanced back at him, only to see him smile at me and then turn back to Sirius. He was kind of cute._

_"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James continued, asking Sirius, the other boy. Sirius did not smile._

_"My whole family has been in Slytherin," he said._

_"Blimey," said James, "and I thought you seemed all right!"_

_Sirius grinned._

_"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"_

_James lifted an invisible sword._

_"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."_

_Severus made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him._

_"Got a problem with that?"_

_"No," said Sev, though he had a sneer on his face. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – "_

_"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius._

_James roared with laughter. I stood up, rather angry, and glared at the two idiots._

_"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."_

_"Oooooo…"_

_James and Sirius imitated her lofty voice; James tried to trip Sev as he passed._

_"See ya, Snivellus!" Someone cried at our backs, as I slammed the compartment door shut._

_That had been my first disagreement with James Potter, the first of many._

-End flashback-

So, here we are, one year later, with him still trying to get me to say yes to him, but me constantly rejecting me.

The welcoming feast hadn't even started yet, and he'd already asked me out. This continued throughout the whole school year, and now it was January.

Honestly, I don't know why he still even tries. I mean, he's still very cute, and almost all the girls in our year swoon over him, and if he were to ask any of them, they would squeal so loudly that it would break your eardrums, or faint on the spot.

So, that raised the question: why on earth was he so intent on trying to get me to go out with him?

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**Well, there you have it, people. The first chapter of my brand-new story.**

**Let me introduce myself. My pen name is LazySundayGirl, my real name is Alexandra. I'm thirteen years old and currently live in the Netherlands. I was born in London, England, and my mother is American. I'm half African-American, and half white. I'm in 8th grade now, and this is my second real fic. My other one was for Percy Jackson (one of my other favourite series), and my beta is IceCreamGurl6455.**

**Considering how slow I was for updating for my last fic, I decided to have at least two other chapters ready in case I don't write any time soon, so that I will have something to update for you guys. Confusing? Try reading it again, that always helps me :)**

**Review, and tell me what you think!**

**Buh-Bye!**

**LazySundayGirl/LSG/Alexandra/Alex**


	2. James Potter's Story

Disclaimer: You see, I tried to get the rights, but Lily Evans stole them from me, duplicated them, lit the first set of the rights on fire, and transfigured the rights into a necklace that she later returned to J.K. Rowling. I don't even know why she did it the complicated way; she could've just grabbed them and disapparated. J.K. Rowling owns all characters except for Isabella Lott and everything recognizable from the HP series. Izzy's mine, people. Don't you even dare try to claim her.

Chapter 2-Prologue-James Potter

I walked up to her, the prettiest girl in the school. I've asked her out many times last year, and I planned on doing this for the rest of our school years until she agreed.

My mates had told me many times to just get over her and give up, but I couldn't. That first moment I saw her, I just knew that I would do anything to try and get her to marry me. I had never felt this way before, you know; such a strong feeling, but she didn't feel the same way (at least—that's what she sayid).

_-Flashback-_

"_Are you sure you have everything, Jamie?"_

"_Yes, mum." I sighed. She had asked this question at least ten times today._

_Today. Today was the day I would leave for Hogwarts. I would never admit it out loud, but I would miss my parents a lot. And now, it was time to go to Hogwarts, the place that my parents had told me _so much_about._

_My mum had told me about the lake, the enchanted roof of the Great Hall, the sight from the Astronomy Tower, and Professor Dumbledore. I was really looking forward to meeting Dumbledore, because from what I had heard he was a great man._

_My dad used to be a troublemaker. He had told me all about Peeves, the secret passages, the entrance to the kitchens, and the fact he used to call professor McGonagall 'Minnie' because her first name was Minerva. I planned on using all of this information and much more. Maybe, I could put it on a piece of parchment and pass it on to my kids…_

"_All right," my mum said, jarring me back to reality, "Time to go"._

_I gave my mum a last hug, let her kiss my head, gave my dad a final secret handshake, and boarded the train._

_I walked into a compartment where another kid was sitting, looking very down._

"_Hey," I said, "Mind if I sit here?"_

"_Not at all." He replied. He looked a bit happier after that. We started chatting about what we knew about Hogwarts, the houses, and our families._

"_I don't get along well with my family. They're all evil. My little brother, Regulus, is constantly sucking up to my parents. My cousins actually like __**Voldemort**__. I mean, imagine if they became Death Eaters. What would that make me? Related to Death Eaters. And there's no way I want that."_

_I was kind of shocked. You see, my dad was an Auror, and my mum a Healer. They were strongly opposed against Voldemort and the pureblood-mania. They had told me that his followers, Death Eaters, were evil, and would not hesitate to kill someone if they knew too much or wouldn't join. Maybe this was a lot to tell an eleven year old, but they wanted me to know enough so that I would maybe have an idea of what to do if I were in danger._

_Anyway, when this kid next to me (who I was sure would become one of my friends) told me that he was a Black, I was startled. The Black family was one of the families that supported Voldemort. He was so nice and funny that at first I couldn't believe it._

"_What's your family like?" Sirius asked, startling me from my thoughts._

"_Oh, well my dad's an Auror and my mum's a Healer. Dad isn't around a lot, but when he is, we have lots of fun. Last time, he helped me build a tree house. My mum comes home late often, but I can care for myself. I wish I had a brother, but I'm an only child."_

_Sirius looked a bit jealous at this, so I tried to cheer him up._

"_You know, if we don't drown in homework this year, you could always come by in the summer holidays."_

_Sirius' face broke into a grin. "I'd love that." He replied. We continued to chat about the houses and Quidditch, when a seriously pretty girl with puffy eyes and red cheeks barged into our compartment._

"_Sorry." She said in a tight voice. "Would you mind if I sit here?"_

_I smiled at her, and said, "Not at all."_

_She sat by the window, and began shedding silent tears. I gave her a bit of space, even though I had no idea why she was crying. While I continued my conversation with Sirius, I glanced at her every now and then, thinking that I would marry this ginger girl and knowing that I would do anything to make it happen._

_Later, a boy with very greasy hair, already in his robes, came into the compartment. He spotted the girl (whose name I still didn't know), and sat down on the other side. I strained my ears, trying to listen to their conversation._

_"I don't want to talk to you," she said, still in that constricted voice._

_"Why not?"_

_"Tuney h-hates me. Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore."_

_I wondered who this "Tuney" was and why she had written to Dumbledore._

_"So what?"_

_She glared at him fiercely._

_"So, she's my sister!"_

_So that's who the mysterious Tuney was. Maybe they had gotten into a fight before she had boarded the train._

_She tried to wipe her eyes unnoticed, which I noticed, while the greasy-haired boy murmured something._

_"But we're going!" he said, not able to hide his enthusiasm. "This is it! We're off to Hogwarts!"_

_The girl nodded, still wiping my eyes, trying for a smile._

_"You'd better be in Slytherin," said the boy, clearly happy that the girl had brightened a little._

_"Slytherin?" I exclaimed. I had tried to pull her into the conversation before, but she didn't feel like talking, so after about five times, I gave up. Once, she caught me stealing a glance at her, so I had smiled at her gently and then turned back to Sirius. She was stunningly beautiful, even with the puffy eyes._

_"Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" I continued, addressing Sirius. He didn't smile, but looked grim instead._

_"My whole family have been in Slytherin," he said._

"_Blimey," I said. "And I thought you seemed all right!"_

_Sirius grinned._

_"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"_

_I pantomimed having an invisible sword._

_"'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad."_

_The greasy boy made a small, disparaging noise. I turned on him._

_"Got a problem with that?"_

_"No," sneered the boy. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy – "_

_"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" interjected Sirius._

_I laughed quite hard at that one. I really didn't like this guy. The girl sat up, rather angry, and glared at us._

_"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."_

_"Oooooo…"_

_Both of us imitated her squeaky voice; I 'accidentally' stuck my leg out as he passed._

_"See ya, Snivellus!" Sirius cried at their backs, as the girl slammed the compartment door shut._

_Later, two other boys, Remus and Peter came into a compartment. Remus seemed quiet and kept to himself, but turned out to be very nice, while Peter was very insecure and had tried to fit in. They all felt like the brothers I had never had._

_-End flashback-_

I was still chasing the same girl, Lily Evans, as I had later learned, for the past year, and I would never stop until she finally agreed. You see, I had something really spectacular set up for this year's Valentine's Day

**Whoop whoop! Chapter 2, people. Next up is the plot for Valentine's Day. *grins evilly***

**Make my day, and review!**

**Alex**


	3. Mornings and Jealous Guys

Disclaimer: I'm a thirteen year old girl that is completely broke. I am not a 47 year old millionaire (or billionaire) that goes by the name J.K. Rowling. I also don't own any characters except for Isabella Lott, and everything recognizable from the HP series

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Chapter 3-Mornings and Jealous Guys-Lily Evans

Ugh.

Alice's alarm clock is blaring through the whole dorm.

I could seriously kill her right now.

I hear the other girls groan and mumble and complain about the morning, but they got up anyway. I don't want to. I think I'll lie down here for another two minutes.

Yeah.

That sounds like a good idea.

I just shouldn't close my eyes. Just don't close them.

Just don't close them

Just don't…

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I open my eyes for just a second, stretch, and then look at the time.

_Shit._

It's 8:13, and my first class, Potions, starts in exactly 17 minutes. And, to add to the pressure, it's Valentine's Day today, and there've been some rumors that Marc Ackermann, the _seriously _cute Ravenclaw in my year, wanted to ask me out today.

I'm seriously stressed.

I yank my uniform out of my closet, run to the bathroom, brush my teeth while I pee (desperate times call for desperate measures), hastily grab an elastic band that holds my messy bun of fiery red curls in place, race down to the Great Hall, grab two slices of toast. I realize that someone is calling my name exasperatedly, and I turn to see Alice, my best friend, jog up to me. Alice has blond hair to her shoulders, brown eyes, and is average height. We've been friends since the Sorting.

"Hey!" she says. "Why are you in such a hurry? Everyone's going to Hogsmeade today, so we have the whole common room to ourselves. You would actually think you would want to go see Potter and his big Valentine's Day surprise he's obviously been planning for you."

I kind of zone out after 'Hogsmeade', but then my other best friend, Isabella Lott, comes up to us. Izzy, as we call her, or Bella, has brown hair and blue eyes, and is short. The thing about Bella is that she's a hopeless romantic at heart and is constantly cooing over what Potter does for me. She says, "Sorry Alice, but I don't really think that Lily here is interested in the fact that it's a Hogsmeade weekend."

Woah, woah, wait.

Weekend?

_Weekend?_

Oh, bloody hell.

I am _such _an idiot.

Of course, just the day that I decide to hurry as if my life depended on it, it's a Saturday.

This is all going on in my head, but on the outside, I groan.

"You have got to tell me you are kidding. I rush like there's a troll chasing me to get to Potions, and then I come down here only for you two to tell me it's a _bleeding _weekend."

Isabella smiles, but Alice is laughing her head off by now, causing the whole Hall to look at her.

"You know," she says in between peals of laughter, "That sounds like exactly the thing you would do, trying to go to a class, even on a weekend."

Bella actually starts to giggle at this and soon joins Alice in fits of laughter, while I grumble and huff and start to eat my breakfast.

I'm on my toes for the rest of the day, and there's only one reason: James Potter.

You see, Potter is intent on getting me to go out with him. No matter how many times I reject him, he still keeps trying. I'm on the brink of hexing him at this moment.

But today, I have to be extra careful.

Last year on Valentine's, back when I was a first year, he got some fifth year to charm all of my plates, cutlery and cups to serenade me for the entire day. It was mortifying.

So, naturally, I'm extra careful today, because I didn't want him jumping out of some random corner and start dancing with me. I swear to god, if he even tries doing that, he will have to hop to Gryffindor Tower because I have mastered the Leg-Locker Curse and he might just lose some male parts.

For the entire morning, nothing happened.

Until noon.

At lunch, Marc Ackermann asks me if I want to go have a walk around the Lake, so I say, "Yes". But sadly, Potter just _has_ to sit two people away from me and just _has _to hear the whole thing. Right now, Marc is getting five boils on his face every second, until Professor McGonagall escorts him to the Hospital Wing. I round on Potter.

"You—bloody—arse." I hiss at him. Yes, I know; some colourful language, but you learn it when you spend as much time around Alice as I do.

Anyway, Potter is trying to slip his wand back into his pocket inconspicuously, but it doesn't work, because as soon as I say those words, the whole Hall goes silent, and looks at me and Potter, waiting for the shouting match to begin. They had grown used to it, and I think they even found it quite amusing.

Stupid prats.

"You do know that whoever I go on a date with, is none, and absolutely _none _of your business?" I say this very calmly, steely, cold.

"Well, you know Evans, I just couldn't resist helping you, I mean, have you seen the way he looks at just about every girl in the whole school?"

"Why would you even care, Potter?" My temper rises.

"Because," he says, now standing up and standing in my face "I think that you would be better off with me."

"You know what Potter," I say very sweetly, "I'll date you."

He grins.

"When Hell freezes over."

His grin falters, and he looks genuinely hurt, which makes me guilty. But despite that, I turn on my heel and stalk out of the Great Hall.

But my trouble for the day doesn't end there.

No, it's only just beginning.

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**Well ladies and gents, chapter number three! Now imagine saying that with an annoying presenter's voice.**

**I'm afraid I might've overused the word 'bloody', but it seemed necessary where it is. Also, there might be some US English in there, sorry for that.**

**Hope you enjoyed it, and maybe, just maybe, you could make my day by filling in that box right under this. Thanks for reading everyone!**

**LazySundayGirl**

**PS. Next chapter should be up next Sunday, but if it's a bit later, it's because I'm incredibly busy...**


	4. Surprise Parties Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: People might just think that I own the rights to the HP series. I don't. (Idiots.) J.K Rowling owns all the characters except Isabella Lott (she's mine) and everything recognizable from the Harry Potter series. And if I did own the HP series, I would never have let Fred, Colin Creevey, Cedric Diggory, Sirius or Remus or Tonks die. And I would own a unicorn named Bob.

BTW, I am now going to use past tense. It's easier to write.

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Chapter 4- Surprise Parties Gone Wrong- James Potter

"Why would she ever even consider dating that jerk?" I sighed.

"Now, now, James." My best friend, Sirius, said. He had long, black hair that ended right above his grey eyes, and was tall. "You know you only say that because he asked Evans out."

"He just doesn't know how wonderful and perfect she is!" I grumbled, knowing that what Sirius said was true.

"So, what do you guys want to do tomorrow?" my other friend, Peter Pettigrew said. Peter was short, and, well, _chubby, _let's say, with brown hair and small, watery eyes.

"Uh, well, um , I have to go and see my mum. She—er—sick." Remus Lupin, another one of my friends, said. He had brown eyes and dirty blond hair.

Together, we were the Marauders. Sirius was the funny one, Remus the smart one, Peter the… well, Pete was Pete, and I was the one that actually set the others up to do all of our pranks. We were like brothers, and we did almost everything together.

Anyway, Remmy Poo (he hated it when we called him that) gave us that excuse every month, but there's no way anybody could be sick that often. We didn't really believe it, but we let it go; knowing that if Remus didn't want to tell us something, we shouldn't try and poke our noses in it.

"Sorry guys, but I've got to go ahead and make sure everything's ready." I said.

I ran off to Gryffindor Tower to make sure everything was exactly where it needed to be. Satisfied with how it looked, I waited for the guys to come back. Around five o'clock, Sirius and Pete stepped through the portrait hole.

"Moony already went home to his mum." Sirius explained, seeing my confused face.

"Oh, okay." I said, "In that case, could you guys help me put up these streamers? It has to look perfect when Evans walks through."

Sirius and Peter nodded, and started helping me. "You know, Jamie," Sirius said with a groan, "I don't know why you keep on going after this one bird. Sure, she's pretty, but she is seriously going to hex you one of these days. But if you really want to do this, we should hurry up. I heard her telling Alice Smith that she had to get something from her dorm. She could be walking through there any moment now."

As it turned out, she didn't come to the Common Room for half an hour, which was lucky, seeing as I still hadn't finished up yet.

When she stepped out of the portrait hole at about 3 o'clock, carelessly chatting with Isabella Lott, the confetti cannons blasted out colored pieces of paper all around the Common Room. The Quidditch figures started dancing around Lily's head. Sirius played "I Want to Hold Your Hand' by the Beatles. It looked quite spectacular.

Lily looked very surprised, then shocked, and then angry.

This is the part when I ran away while she screamed for my bloody murder.

But as it turned out, she didn't run at me, or anything of the sort. She just pointed her wand at me, said "_Avis" _and _"Oppugno" _and suddenly half a dozen birds were pecking at every bit of my exposed skin.

Evans then calmly walked towards the girls' dormitory, leaving me with all of the bloody birds. After about a minute, they disappeared.

"Well," Sirius said sarcastically. "That went well."

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**And thus ends chapter four. Let's crank up the reviews, people! Then maybe I'll reward you with a cookie. But only if you review ;)**

**Hope you enjoyed, and look out for the next chapter, due next Sunday. Sorry it's so short...**

**Adiós, amigos!**

**Alexandra**


	5. Parties and Midnight Conversations

Disclaimer: I had the rights to the HP series hidden in a Quaffle, but James went full Quidditch-mode, grabbing the ball from me. J.K. Rowling still owns all characters—except Isabella Lott—and everything recognizable from the Harry Potter series.

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Chapter 5-Parties and Midnight Conversations -Lily Evans

It was almost Halloween, and the third year Marauders were planning on having a Halloween party in the Gryffindor Common Room.

Ugh.

Potter's head had gotten even bigger, if that was possible, because they had won the Quidditch Cup in second year. He played Chaser, and his friend, Black, was a Beater.

Those two, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew formed the Marauders—the most annoying, prank playing guys in the whole school. Remus was okay; Peter barely said a thing; and Black had a head full of hair, girls on both of his arms, and a huge ego to match it.

But Potter… Potter was something different. I couldn't really place him. He had a big head, full of black hair, and girls on his arms, but he used to ask me out a lot._"Used to" _are the operative words here. Since the whole Marc Ackermann scene, he hadn't asked me out at all. Nothing, zilch, nada. He had been polite, but only talked to me when he had to. I could still see that hurt in his eyes every time his eyes flickered to me. It made me slightly guilty, but I shrugged it off and had a conversation with Alice—who was second Seeker on our Quidditch team, even though she was dead clumsy.

Her long time friend, Frank Longbottom, was our Keeper. They clearly liked each other, but they both didn't want to ruin their friendship. Completely unnecessary, if you ask me. They were always flirting and everything.

Anyway, back to the Halloween party. It was going to be big. How did I know? The Marauders made everything flashy, and I mean_everything. _Their pranks, their parties, their lives...

I'd been thinking of maybe asking this fourth year guy, Thomas Pliny, to go with me, but I hadn't really had the chance. He had black hair, was tall and muscular, and his very gorgeous hazel eyes were familiar, but I didn't know what—or who—from.

Alice was going with Frank—as "friends" (idiots)—and Bella was going with a second year, Evan Tressill.

I walked up to the Common Room, ready to have the weekly gossip session with Al and Izzy. Izzy always heard all of the gossip in the school, and insisted that we keep up with everything. She was quite girly.

When I sat down on my favorite chair, Bella started to talk right away.

"Well, girls," she started, "It seems that all the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws are talking about is the party. Trevor Marshall, the Hufflepuff seventh year, is going with Louise Bell, you know, the Head Girl. Then Hannah Tran, the Ravenclaw sixth year, has been asked by Kingsley Shacklebolt, Head boy, and Mary from our dorm is bringing Daniel Tringe, fourth year Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw fifth year Fabian Prewett, you know, Chaser, is taking Annabelle Redthorn, Gryffindor fifth year, and his brother, Gideon, the Beater, has been asked by Kylie Falke, the Ravenclaw, but turned her down because he's going with a Gryffindor fifth year Jessie Griffiths. Kylie has now been asked by…" I zoned out as she named who was taking who. I honestly had no idea how she remembered everything, or why she even bothered. But I came back to earth when she started naming the Marauders.

"… Peter has been asked by the second year, Florence Kleinn, Sirius Black almost proposed to the fourth year Rachel McCurt, Remus Lupin is taking Marlene Mckinnon, fourth year, and James Potter has asked Emily Thrott. And that's the end of the Halloween Chronicles." Isabella finished. Alice was almost snoring in her chair, so I poked her, making her yelp.

"Yes, right," she said quickly. "Thanks for telling us, Izzy."

I flashed Bella a smile, and then said, "We should go downstairs for dinner." We all got up, and found our way to the Great Hall. I heard bits of whispers here and there, all about the dance.

My eyes found Sev's, and I smiled at him. He gave me a grin. He then turned back to his friends, Mulicber, Avery, and some others. I frowned. I didn't like his friends, as I'd told him many times, but he wouldn't listen. They sneered at me in hallways- sometimes they tried to hex me- and called me 'Mudblood'. I would've taken Sev to the party, but he always got into fights with Potter and Black. Plus, there was a strict no-Slytherins allowed rule for the party.

I sat down at the Gryffindor table, a few seats away from James, who was talking animatedly, his arm around his girlfriend, Emily Thrott. She had long, blond hair, a very pretty face, a thin waist, and was tall. She looked like she could just walk down a Muggle catwalk, and fit right in. And she was a total bitch to the rest of us.

I looked at Potter for a while, not noticing it, but fantasizing about him, and suddenly I knew where I recognized Thomas' eyes from. But James's eyes were much warmer, and happier. Thomas' were also gorgeous, but they didn't have as much life in them. After a while, Alice called me back to earth.

"OI!" she practically yelled. "Lily! Earth to Lily! Wake up, stop staring!" A few heads had turned our way, including the Marauders', making me blush. I hate it when I blush. It contrasts a lot with my pale skin, and almost matched the fiery red color of my hair. One ginger in the family, and of _course_ I inherited her hair. But it had always looked better on my grandmother.

Anyway, I quickly mumbled a "Sorry..." and turned my face to my plate, desperately trying to eat normally. I looked up, and caught Potter's eyes by accident. He smiled softly at me, but it didn't reach his eyes, where there was that everlasting flicker of hurt.

That night, as I lay thinking and listening to Bella's rhythmic breathing and Mary's snores, I realized that I might just have a crush on James Potter.

And maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be _that _terrible.

* * *

Alice was running around frantically in our dorm, searching for something.

"Where's the bloody thing?" I heard her mumble as she walked past.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

"My brush!" she cried. I walked to the bathroom, opened a drawer, and pulled out her silver brush.

"Oh my god, I forgot it was even in there. Thanks!"

"No problem," I replied.

I put on my own yellow, long sleeved dress that stopped right above my knees with a round neckline, curled the bottom of my hair, put on a bit of mascara and some light lipstick, and waited for the rest of the girls to get ready. Yellow was one of the only colors that suited me. Pink didn't work because of my hair, white made my skin look even paler, red and orange also didn't work because of my hair, but blue, yellow, and green did most of the time.

The party would start at eight, but everybody knew that means do not come down until half past eight. It was eight o'clock now, and the other girls in my room were stressing.

Thomas had asked me out a few days ago, and I had said yes. He did kind of resemble James in a way, I noticed. But James was scrawny and short, and Thomas was tall and muscular. We would meet at nine by the buffet table, and Al and Bella would meet their dates there too, giving us some girl time until we would meet them.

Alice was wearing a dark blue dress without sleeves, with sequins all over. She had straightened her hair, and only wore a silver necklace with a star at the end.

Izzy wore a black kind-of-see-through blouse (with a black undershirt) with a sequined pink skirt with a black elastic band at the top. She had curled her hair, and wore many bracelets, no necklace, and simple silver earrings. They both looked very pretty.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yep." Alice said.

"Wait!" Bella yelled. "I still have to find my shoes!"

We waited for Izzy and then made our way downstairs. It looked really spectacular. There were giant pumpkins everywhere, bats flying around the ceiling, fake cobwebs in the corners, a DJ set was in one corner—with Sirius manning it—and a buffet table was on the other side of the room. It looked fabulous, and I couldn't help but gape at everything.

"Alright there, Evans?" Sirius called. I quickly closed my mouth and walked over to the buffet table—glaring at Black as I walked by—grabbing a chocolate cookie. I really shouldn't eat so much, but I just can't resist. Chocolate is my fatal point. It's the last thing I ever want to eat.

Alice, Bella, and I chatted and giggled for half an hour, and I kept on eating the bonbons. They were_good. _They burned slightly as they went down my throat, but it was a good sensation.

At least, that's what I thought.

After half an hour, Thomas walked to the table, and he looked_very _handsome. He was wearing a white dress shirt with jeans, but it looked really good on him. Most guys were dressed like that, but Thomas really pulled it off. He looked incredible.

He said, "Do you want to dance?"

"Yeah," I responded with a smile.

We made our way to the dance floor, and I glanced back at Alice and Frank laughing and flirting and Izzy was already on the dance floor with Evan Tressill.

Thomas and I laughed and danced a lot, and I was really having a good time.

Thomas offered to go get drinks for us, so I went to sit in a corner. I went looking for him after about ten minutes when he still didn't come back, and found him with Emily Thrott.

_Snogging, _may I add.

Well. This sucked.

"Thomas?" I asked.

He broke away from Emily, face flushed and with swollen lips. He started to try and apologize, saying "Lily, listen!" but I was already making my way towards the portrait hole, needing some fresh air.

* * *

I walked towards the Astronomy tower, where the view over the grounds was the best. Especially on clear nights like this one. A few minutes later, I heard someone stumble up the stairs, and turned to look into the face of James Potter.

Well. This was just getting better and better.

I really didn't feel like Potter then, his eyes reminded me too much of Thomas. But I sighed and moved over on my little windowsill.

"You saw it too, then?" he asked. I nodded. That was how we sat for about half an hour, just looking at the stars, enjoying how we could just _be_ there without talking.

After about an hour, I decided it was time for a conversation.

"That was a really cool party back there."

"Thanks." He smiled. We were going the right way. Of course, if we were within five meters of each other and hadn't yelled yet, we were doing very well.

"Sirius is actually a good DJ." I said. "I noticed that you guys are always together. You're just like brothers."

James smiled. "We are. Marauder Code," he joked, nudging me with his shoulder.

"What about you: got any brothers or sisters?"

"One," I said darkly. "A sister. Petunia."

James rearranged his face into a serious one. "You don't like her?" he asked.

I shook my head. "She doesn't like me because I'm magic. She calls me a freak half of the time and ignores me the rest of the time. I think she's jealous, but I don't really know." I bit my lip, keeping my eyes on the stars the whole time instead of James' face. It was easier to talk that way.

Suddenly, I felt something heavy on my shoulders, and looked down to see James' arm. Normally, I would yell and then hex him, but now I needed the comfort. I didn't really like to talk about Petunia. James was the only one apart from Alice and Isabella to know about Tuney. We were falling apart more and more. I tried to reconnect the bond that we used to have, but she just pushed me away more and more. I was scared that one day, we might not even talk anymore. I might not even be able to see her kids one day.

The thought made me shed silent tears, and James just held me tighter. He wiped my tears away with his thumb, and I could see real longing in his eyes.

His eyes.

They always betrayed his feelings, no matter how tough he might act.

And I decided that that was one of the things that I liked best about him.

We sat on that windowsill for about twenty minutes until James stood up and offered me his hand. I looked at it for about five seconds, contemplating whether to take it or leave it. I decided to take it.

"Let's get back to the party." He said, holding my hand a second longer than necessary.

Together, we walked back to the Common Room, getting ready to party again. After all, Marauder parties didn't end until at least 3 o'clock in the morning. And it was only 12.

* * *

**Wow. That was long. Five pages, may I say. Thank you guys for reviewing, favoriting, and following! You are the best! Cookie to all the reviewers! (:::::::::::::::::) Now you should go grab a real cookie as reward.**

**I really hope you liked it, and that the length of this chapter kind of made up for the shortness of last chapter.**

**See you next Sunday!**

**LazySundayGirl**


	6. Drunken Escapades and Quidditch

Disclaimer: Well, if I did own the HP series, Bob the Unicorn (that would be his official name—Bob for short) would get the best care in the world. But sadly, none of that happens, so J.K. Rowling still owns all characters, except Isabella Lott, and everything recognizable from all of the HP books.

* * *

Chapter 6- Drunken Escapades and Quidditch- James Potter

Lily and I made our way back to the Common Room, where the party was still in full swing. Sirius was dancing behind the DJ table with many girls around him; Remus was having fun with his date; and Pete was at the buffet table. We had found out that Remus was a werewolf a few weeks before—but that didn't change anything. We were still brothers.

I could somehow tell that Lily was still tense and dreaded seeing Pliny.

To distract her, I asked, "Do you want to dance?"

Her eyes lit up, and I took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Lily happened to be an amazing dancer, and she just went on and on having a great time. Isabella Lott and Alice Smith—my childhood friends—came along with Sirius, and we were all dancing and joking and laughing. Lily was giggling a lot.

That's what I liked most about the dance. Lily and I were just having fun, and I got the chance to cheer her up and have a civil conversation with her.

After a while, the girls told us they were peckish and went to the buffet table.

"So…?" Sirius asked. "What did you do? Pull her into a broom closet and snog her senseless? Have a heart to heart? Give her enough Firewhisky to get her to fall for the Potter charm? Serenade her?"

I laughed. "Nah, although we did have a heart to heart. Apparently she and her sister don't get along."

I saw sympathy in Sirius' eyes; he and Regulus didn't get along either.

"Ah." He said. "But why did you leave so early?"

"Well—I saw Emily kissing Lily's date, Thomas Pliny, so I just wanted to get out and the Astronomy Tower felt like the place to go and she was just sitting there on a windowsill, so I joined her."

"Well. That sucks." Sirius said with a face, making me laugh. That guy could always cheer me up, how sad or angry I was. That was one of the key elements to our friendship—jokes and humor.

"But at least I know now that Emily was a bitch."

"Yeah, that's the upside to this whole ordeal. You're free for Evans now." He said with a wink.

"Nah, then she'll get all angry all over again and hex me. I think friendship's all that's in there for us."

"Well, that's a bummer. Let's go get drunk."

We made our way to the buffet table, where we saw all the bonbons eaten, and Lily eating a lot of them.

The _spiked _bonbons.

Oh god.

Sirius and I hollowed out the inside and filled them with Firewhisky, so that the party would flow more.

And now we had to deal with a drunken Lily Evans.

Just peachy.

* * *

As it turned out, Lily was quite funny drunk. She was much looser, letting her hair flow all over the place, her face flushed, and she giggled a lot. It was refreshing from the stressed, serious Lily we saw in class. But she danced even more than before, and a lot more with her hips. Sure, I liked it, but other guys were watching now too, making me jealous.

Lily was pretty and smart, so that made her quite wanted amongst the guys. So now, when she danced like that, even more boys were watching her, including Pliny, who was looking like he was regretting kissing Emily.

After about two minutes, he walked up to Lily and whispered something in her ear.

"Ugh," Lily said/slurred, "Not you. I didn't even want to go to this party with you in the first place, really. You're an asshole. Go die in a hole."

I had to stifle my laughter behind my hand.

Pliny looked shocked, but quickly regained his composure and tried to dance with her, but Lily walked toward me and said, "Help me, James, please?"

Without hesitating, I drew my fist back and sent it flying into Pliny's face. He cried out and grabbed his nose. It was probably broken.

I then grabbed Lily by the hand and pulled her away from Pliny.

We continued dancing and joking and making fun of Emily and Pliny who were sending us glares, but they didn't do anything.

I noticed a girl from our year, a Ravenclaw named Hannah Ackermann, Marc Ackermann's twin sister, standing alone in a corner, looking bored.

"I'm just gonna go over to Hannah really quick. I'll be right back." I told Lily and Sirius before walking towards Hannah.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." She replied, giving me a one-over and an approving look.

"So, how are you enjoying the party?" I asked her.

"It's lots of fun, but my date left me. Just dropped me off here and left. But I have to wait for my brother; he made me promise to wait for him. You know, with all the Slytherins and all.

I nodded. Then Hannah put her hand on my arm, and started this _purring _noise that made me want to gag.

"But we could have some fun, couldn't we?" she said.

I scooted a bit away from her, saying, "Er—what do you mean?" though I knew very well what she meant.

"I mean," she replied, scooting closer to me, "that we could do this."

And then she pulled my lips against hers, even though I didn't want to. I struggled out of her grasp, and said awkwardly, "I'm really sorry, but I don't like you that way. Goodbye."

I walked away, leaving her there, and walked straight into Lily. Her eyes were wide and were quickly becoming red. And here comes the dramatic drunk part.

"What did you do, James?" she cried. A few people turned their heads, giving us curious looks.

"Lily, listen to—"

"NO!" she yelled. "You arse! I hate you!" and she ran away, leaving me perplexed. Boys. We never know what we've done.

Alice gave me a pitying look before rushing up the stairs with Isabella.

"What the hell happened?" Sirius asked.

"I have absolutely no idea." I answered.

* * *

The next morning I woke up with a big headache. Remus had used _Aguamenti _in my face, startling me awake. He shushed me before I could say anything, and pointed to the still-closed curtains of Frank, Peter, and Sirius

It was a ritual now that whoever woke up first would play some kind of prank on the others. Most of the time, Remus or Frank were first, and Peter and Sirius were last.

I walked up to Frank's bed, deciding what to do. A few moments later, I cast a Silencing Charm around his bed, pointed my wand at it, and whispered, "_Convertimini concitant", _a spell to turn something upside down. Frank startled awake and desperately tried to hang on while he was upside down, but after about two seconds, he fell onto his back with"Oof!" I laughed softly.

Frank can be quite vicious when he wanted to, and you could tell that when he smiled that special smile of his, that crooked smile, he was planning something. I was getting scared and was thinking of actually setting my alarm clock for tomorrow.

Remus had pranked Remus into waking up, so Sirius was the last person still sleeping. We always saved Sirius for last and did the most annoying thing that we could think of to wake him up.

We were all standing in a line, looking at the immobile form of Sirius, and wondering what we should do. Frank, in a stroke of brilliance, said, "We should cover his hands in whipped cream and then use the Tickling Charm, or grab a quill and start tickling his nose. That way, he will cover himself in whipped cream."

We all agreed, so Frank offered to perform the charm, and I volunteered to go down to the kitchens for some whipped cream.

When I walked into the Common Room, there was only one person in the room, and it was Lily.

Well, _shit._

I tried to tiptoe past, but she had already seen me.

"Ugh. What happened last night, James? The last thing I remember is us talking on the balcony, and then the chocolates… didn't we dance?"

I nodded. "Oh my goodness. How did you even get me drunk?" she asked. That was it. She didn't remember the fighting, or the yelling, or anything?

"Sirius and I filled the chocolates with Firewhisky… Hum. Before I continue... Are you mad? Cause otherwise I should run."

She laughed bitterly. "I just remembered something. You kissed Hannah Ackermann." Her tone had turned angry.

"You do know that I can kiss whoever I want, right?" I said, becoming quite annoyed. First she rejected me all the time, and then I wasn't allowed to kiss anyone. The only logical reason is… nah, that wouldn't happen. I had given up that hope months ago.

"YOU JUST GO AROUND LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED! I HATE YOU. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU DID WRONG! WELL WAKE UP, POTTER, BECAUSE THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU! OTHERS HAVE FEELINGS TOO!" I had almost forgotten about her temper. Almost. Now we were back to her yelling at me. Great.

I walked out of the Common Room, and went straight to the kitchens, ignoring the jeers of the Slytherins and the greetings of the others. There was a Quidditch match next weekend, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, so the usual pre-match ritual had begun. The Gryffindors and Slytherins jeered at each other, and they tried to hurt the Quidditch players before they match so that they couldn't play. Most of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were supporting Gryffindor, since all three houses had a rivalry against Slytherins.

I tickled the pear, and walked into the kitchen. Immediately, I was greeted by the house elves.

"Master James!" some squeaked. I was a usual visitor here, so they knew me.

"Hi guys," I responded. "D'you think you have some whipped cream I could use?"

They got it for me, and I started walking back to Gryffindor Tower. On the way there, I met Alice. Alice lived two houses down from us, and we'd been friends since we could walk.

"Hey Jamie!" she says.

"Hey, Al." I respond.

I guess I sounded down, because she said, "Met Lily in the Common Room?"

I nodded. "You really hurt her, you know. Even though she was drunk, she was crying all night."

"But why would she be so bothered by it? It's not like she cares about me."

"She cares more than you would think, you know. But never mind, it's not my place to tell you. I've said too much anyway. Bye, James!"

And with that, she left me standing alone in the corridor again.

I really don't understand women.

* * *

When Sirius was awake, he complained a lot.

"My head hurts!" was one of the first things he said.

"I know, mate. Let's go have breakfast."

At breakfast, I caught Lily throwing me glances ever so slightly. For once, the roles were switched.

Sirius saw my line of sight, and immediately tried to cheer me up. It didn't work.

For the rest of the week, Lily and I fell back into our old routine. She would ignore me, or throw me glares. I would become frustrated, and run my hand through my hand a lot—a habit of mine—which would annoy her even more and that would bring us back to the start of the cycle.

Meanwhile, it was the morning of the Quidditch match. Our captain, Max Howardson, a Chaser, ordered us to bed early the night before. As usual, I wasn't able to eat breakfast the morning before the game. I've played lots of times now, at home and at Hogwarts, but I still got nervous. The Slytherins were yelling insults at us while the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws gave us encouragements.

After breakfast, it was time to walk to the field. It was a sunny day with hardly any wind, unusually nice weather for this time of the year.

"Perfect weather conditions." I told Sirius.

He frowned. "It is, isn't it? And the Slytherins looked quite happy this morning, and even smugger than usual. Something isn't right."

"You're right."I joined him in frowning. There was something about to happen. I could feel it. It was all too perfect; good weather, happy Slytherins (although it could be debated if that was good), and… and Lily in the stands. She looked exceptionally beautiful today, with her Gryffindor scarf on and her matching hair flowing in the wind. It made my breath stop for a moment, but I averted my eyes. Lily returned to her book.

We walked into the Gryffindor locker room, where Amy and the Prewett brothers were already seated.

"Hey" we greeted.

"Hi" they replied. A few moments later, Frank and Alice came in. Max started his usual pre-match pep talk.

"Okay guys, we can do this. You know the Slytherin players, all bulky, not much skill. Black, Prewett, I want you to mainly keep the Bludgers away from us. It wouldn't hurt the Slytherins a lot if they got hit, but they will hit hard, probably towards Alice. Longbottom, stay on your toes, they will throw hard but not in a real direction. Don't look at their posture, like you usually do, because they can't aim. Keep your reflexes up. Alice, I want to you grab the Snitch as soon as you can. Black is fast, and has a good broom, but you have the build and the flying skills. Prewett, Potter, pass a lot, and maybe feign getting hurt a little for penalties, because Slytherins play foul anyway. Their keeper, Bullstrode, has a fast broom but almost no flying skills. She will yell at her players, so if she's distracted, take your chance.

"We can do this people, I have a good feeling. Play like we always do and we will be sure to win the match."

We walked onto the field, and were greeted by a roar of cheers. Three quarters of the stadium was dressed in red and gold, and the rest was wearing green and silver.

"And here come the Gryffindor players!" Remus commented. Although he was ookish, he was quite funny as a commentator. He got into trouble with McGonagall a lot, as did Sirius, Peter and I, so he wasn't afraid of saying what he wanted.

"The Chasers: Fabian Prewett, James Potter, and Max Howardson, the captain! Beaters: Sirius Black and Gideon Prewett. Our very own Keeper: Frank Longbottom! And last but definitely not least, the Seeker, Alice Smith!

"The Slytherin players have just walked out! Chasers: Rosier Nott, Zachary Flint, and Lucius Malfoy! Beaters: Alecto and Amycus Carrow, the siblings! Keeper: Amanda Bullstrode, captain of the team! And Regulus Black plays Seeker!

Max and Bullstrode squeezed each other's hands quite hard, and Lauren Oak—the referee and flying teacher at the school—blew her whistle and we kicked off. I grabbed the Quaffle, and took off towards the hoops of the Slytherins.

"Potter has the Quaffle, passes to Howardson, drops the Quaffle straight into Prewett's waiting hands. Prewett flies straight for the goal and—HEY! LAUREN! THAT NEEDS A PENALTY!"

Flint had blocked Fabian's way by flying past him, making him drop the Quaffle.

"And Madam Oak awards Gryffindor with a penalty. Potter takes it, he shoots—SCORES! Gryffindor 10, Slytherin 0!"

I waved at the crowd as I flew past in a victory lap. Lily looked annoyed, even though I didn't know the reason. Then her face quickly became fearful, so I made a 180 degrees turn. What I saw wasn't pretty.

From the sea of green, there were lights flashing everywhere, curses and hexes hitting people left, right, and centre. In the sky, I saw the words, _'Mudbloods—watch out._' I dove to the ground and pulled my wand out of my Quidditch robes, not hesitating for a second. I ran to Lily.

"Lily!" I yelled. "Get out of here! Grab Isabella and go to the Common Room."

"Don't tell me what to do Potter! If I want to fight I will bloody well fight!" and with that, she too grabbed her wand and ran into the chaos.

Women. I'm telling you.

People were dueling everywhere. McGonagall was starting to grab Slytherins by the necks, telling the other professors to do the same.

I ran after Lily, ducking and blocking spells from everywhere. Then, I caught a flash of red, and didn't hesitate a second before running to Lily.

She was battling Nott, and there was no way that it was a fair duel. Nott was a sixth year, and knew a lot more about curses and dueling than Lily.

"Stupefy!" I yelled, stopping Nott from probably throwing an Unforgivable at Lily.

"ARE YOU MAD?!" I asked Lily.

"Look Potter, I appreciate you helping me, but I want to fight, so I will. I can handle myself."

I was torn between respecting her decision and protecting her.

"At least let me help?"

She looked as if there was nothing she would want less, but she said, "Okay."

We ran through the crowd, searching for people to help, working as a team. We brought a few first years to safety, stunned a few Slytherins, until I heard something that broke my heart.

Lily was screaming and thrashing around.

The Crutiatus.

I looked around for the caster, and saw Bellatrix Black, a seventh year, pointing her wand at Lily with an evil, malicious, joyful glint in her eye, as if this was her idea of fun.

"NO!" I yelled, and she stopped and turned her attention to me. Lily fell to the ground, twitching.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Potter, the nasty little son of the Auror. What do you think you can do, huh? Jump in front of the curse? You'll be next, right after this nasty little Mudblood," she sneered.

"Stupefy!" I yelled before Bellatrix could block the spell, sending her toppling to the ground. She was out cold.

"LILY!" I said, running towards her frail little frame, her eyes unfocused, legs and arms twitching uncontrollably.

Without thinking, I pulled her up into my arms bridal style, and carried her to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

When I got there, the sight I saw was devastating. People were everywhere, bleeding, some with still open wounds, medics from St. Mungo's were bustling around, helping people and tending to their wounds, giving them potions, waving their wands.

"Help!" I yelled, and Madam Pomfrey ran up to me.

"Goodness me, what happened to her?" she said, looking at Lily.

"Crutiatus." I replied, out of breath from hurrying there.

"A—an Unforgivable? Oh my goodness. Potter, go fetch Professor Dumbledore, I need to have a word with him."

I nodded. I really didn't want to leave Lily's side, but I had to get Dumbledore.

When I arrived at his office—I'd been there a couple of times for playing pranks, so I knew my way—I realized I didn't know the password.

"Uh—Ice Mice? Fizzing Whizzbees? Licorice Wand? Oh, oh wait, what was that Muggle sweet, uh—ah! Lemon Drop!"

The gargoyle moved aside, allowing me to walk up the stairs, and I burst into the room. Professor Dumbledore was sitting there, talking in earnest with the other professors.

"Professor Dumbledore, Lily has been hit with an Unforgivable. Madam Pomfrey told me to come fetch you."

Professor Dumbledore stood immediately, the usual twinkle gone completely from his eyes, leaving them with a cold, stony look.

"Very well. Excuse me, my dear colleagues, but this is urgent. Mister Potter, lead the way."

We walked back to the Hospital Wing, where I saw Lily on a bed instantly. I ran over to her, gripping her hand.

"What can we do, Albus?"Madam Pomfrey asked.

Dumbledore looked solemn. "For now, we can do nothing but wait."

For the next few hours, Lily still didn't wake up. Her parents had been sent a letter, and I was still holding her hand, feeling immensely guilty. If only I had been paying more attention, then maybe this wouldn't have happened. If I had jumped in front of the curse, she might've been safe. It was all my fault, and I wouldn't leave her bedside. Even when Poppy came to shoo me away, I stayed. After a short argument, she allowed me to stay.

Around two, I dozed off. I woke up to the sound of Alice and Isabella along with Sirius, Remus, and Peter grabbing chairs to sit beside Lily too. I knew there to support me. I flashed them a weak smile, and then turned to Alice, grabbing her hand in a brotherly way.

She smiled weakly at me, and then said, "Thank you. For bringing her here."

"No problem." I replied.

It was almost dinner time when Lily woke up. The boys had already left, leaving Alice, Isabella, and me alone with Lily.

I was still holding her hand, not bearing to let it go, not wanting to let her go.

I felt her stir, and snapped my head up. Alice and Isabella saw my sudden movement, and looked at Lily too.

She opened her eyes slowly, taking in her surroundings.

"Oh my god, what happened? The last thing I remember is pain, and—and lights, and flashes. Was that the—" her voice turned soft here, "The Crutiatus?" she asked Alice. Alice nodded, looking like she wanted to cry. Isabella, grabbed her other hand, and that was when Lily noticed me.

"Potter? What are you doing here?" she said.

"I brought you here." I said, my voice a bit hoarse.

She looked very grateful. "Thank you."

I nodded. She tried to sit up, but fell back into her cushions immediately, her arms trembling.

"Ugh. Not a good idea."

"I'll go get Madam Pomfrey." I offered.

Lily nodded.

I found Poppy with another patient, and told her that Lily had woken up.

She followed me to her bed, and told us that Lily needed rest.

"You guys go get some food. You look terrible." Lily told us, making me smile. She was okay, and she was (kind of) back to herself.

* * *

When I walked into the Great Hall, there was a thick tension. I sat down next to Sirius, who was already eating like a pig.

"How is she?"Remus asked.

"She's gonna be alright."

Alice and Isabella joined us after a while, and we ate in silence, all thinking about Lily.

"You know," Sirius said. "Dumbledore expelled Bellatrix. She won't be coming back."

"Good." I said.

The next day, Lily was discharged from the Hospital Wing. She continued with her lessons, but she was never really the kind-of carefree person she was before. She knew she was in danger because of her blood-status. She knew she could get hurt badly because of it.

And I would do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.

* * *

**Aaaaaand I'm late. Shit. Sorry people! I went on a school trip for a week, and then my laptop got taken away as a punishment, and here we are. I'm really sorry!**

**This took such a long time, so you better like it!**

**The reason why James keeps on saying he doesn't understand women is because most boys don't understand girls. I'm a girl myself and sometimes I don't understand other girls either. We are very complicated, let me tell you.**

**LSG**


	7. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Hello, guys.**

**You're probably breaking out the rotten tomatoes, the pitchforks, and the bazookas, but please don't kill me just yet.**

**As you all know, I haven't updated in forever. I hadn't really had any inspiration, so I didn't feel like writing. That's why I'm putting this story on hiatus. I'm really sorry, guys, but I just have major Writer's Block and I just can't do it. I will defintely continue this story sometime, but I don't know when. Please, don't give up on me, I promise I will finish it.**

**Now you can kill me. Excuse me whle I run away...**

**Alex**


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